Adventures and Misadventures in Writing and Life

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Why I’ve Become Pro-Blogging

I decided several months ago that I wanted to start a blog. Why, you may be asking? Well, quite simply because every one I knew involved in writing told me I should.

If you want to get published you have to start a blog, they said. OK, I knew I wanted to get published one day, so then blog I would. But what for? I still wasn’t grasping the idea.

To network, to get your name out there, to show people are interested in your work. Great, so I start writing a couple times a week and soon I’ll have my name in neon lights somewhere in the blogging-sphere.

It’s been just under a month since I started and so far no neon lights or publishing offers thrown my way. And that’s alright, because the benefits I am seeing from this experience far outweigh what I ever anticipated.

Blogging is not something which comes naturally to me. The idea that whatever I post here may interest people seems quite brash. But then, the experience is more personal; I am writing this blog because it is important to ME. Maybe I have to be a bit selfish, because it has enabled me to learn a lot in a short time.

Here are some lessons:

–Critique. I’ve become much more critical of my own writing. Learning tips from other seasoned writers has been extremely beneficial to how I view my own writing.

–Patience. It will take time. I had this idea in the beginning that I would have one year to make it or break it. But now that seems silly. Writing is my passion and I’m willing to pursue it to the ends of time.

–Encouragement. Writing in the past has been such a solitary pursuit. Here, I am able to share my frustrations and fears and receive helpful and thoughtful responses from my fellow bloggers.

–Commitment. It’s only been one month, and I’ve made some modest progress, but I realize I have a long way to go. Having contact with other bloggers and writers who have reached the goals that I’m striving for makes me more committed than ever to pursue my dreams.

So thanks to all the people who have made this such a rewarding experience so far. And if this post can convince anyone who is on the fence about starting a blog, then I feel like I’ve done a good job.

I find your blog to read quite naturally; your posts are very thoughtful and honest. I think the act of publishing something, be it a post, forces us to be more critical, as you say. Even though we are doing it for ourselves-in a way-the fact that other people may see it, makes us edit down to the most important points.